Their slates were both socially progressive and their campaign promises substantially similar.

But because the winning candidates in the University of Missouri’s student government elections were white – and one of them, male – the results prove the underlying racism and sexism of the student body, according to critics.

President-elect Nathan Willett and his female running mate, Payton Englert, were nearly disqualified from the two-horse race hours before their victory, based on an anonymous allegation of ballot fraud.

The Board of Elections Commissioners issued its harshest possible sanction against their slate before a student judicial body overturned its ruling at a raucous Wednesday night student government meeting.

With the votes tallied, the Willett/Englert ticket won in a landslide, 54-46 percent, in the largest turnout ever for a Missouri Students Association (MSA) election.